Memorial burial tablet and indicator



(No Model.)

J. W. HUNT.

MEMORIAL BURIAL TABLET AND INDICATOR. No. 466,074. Patented Deo. 29,1891.

IIT/1..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JONATHAN IVINOHESTER HUNT, OF KIRBY, OREGON.

MEMORIAL BURIAL TAB'LET AND INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 466,074, dated December29, 1891.

' Application led September 14,1891. Serial No. 405,690. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JONATHAN WINCHESTER HUNT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Kirby, Josephine county, State of Oregon, haveinvented an Improvement in Memorial Burial Tablets and Indicators; and Ihereby declare the following to be full, clear, and exact description ofthe same.

My invention relates to what I term a memorial burial-tablet,witness-pin or indicator, and receptacle. l

It consists of a tablet made of indestructible material bearing thenecessary inscriptions, said tablet being buried beneath the soil of thegrave, and in conjunction therewith of an indicator or pin', which showsthe location of the tablet and at the same time serves to support areceptacle for Iiowers or other articles.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanationof my invention, Figure lis aview of the tablet. Fig. 2 is a section ofa grave showing the relative position of the tablet, pin,and thereceptacle. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the indicator-pin and receptacle.Fig. 4; is a cross-section through a part of the tablet.

A is the tablet, which is made of any suitable or desired size,preferably about six or seven inches by four. This tablet is made ofclay burned to the consistency of stoneware or pottery, and it has adepression made in the upper surface in which is placed a plate ortablet B, made of copper, nickel, silver, or

any indestructible material. This plate B is iitted into/the depressionin the face of the tablet, and is covered with a glass C, which is setin Portland cement, there being a groove or channel D made for thereception of the cement, and an inner raised ledge E, upon which theglass rests out of contact with the inscription-plate, its edges beingalso out of contact with the interior periphery of the tablet itself.When this cement has properly set, the whole will be perfectlyimpervious to water or air. This tablet is buried in the soil above thegrave to the depth of a foot or more, and directly above it is fittedthe witness or -indicating pin G, which stands perpendicularly in thesoil pointing directly to the tablet beneath. This pin is shown in thepresent case as made tapering, and the upper end is also made in theform of a frustum of acone and adapted to fit into acorrespondingly-shaped depression in the bottom of the cup or receptacleH. The pin and receptacle are made of similar material to the tablet,and the receptacle is held steadily in position when fitted upon theupper end of the pin.

The object of this device is t-o provide a suitable meansfor-identifying any grave from which all external marks may have beendestroyed, and as the tablet contains all the necessary inscriptions andthe pin points to its position, it will be easy at any time to identifythe grave and know who has been buried in it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tovsecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A memorial-tablet of indestructiblematerial adapted to be buriedbelow the surface of the ground and containing suitable inscriptions, incombination with an indicator projecting exterior of the soil and in thevertical plane of the tablet, substantially as herein described.

2. A memorial-tablet of indestructible material adapted to be locatedhorizontally in the grave below the top surface thereof, said tablethavinga recess for an inscription-plate, a glass covering for saidplate, a ledge supporting the glass plate above and out of contact withthe inscription-plate, and a groove or channel surrounding the ledge andadapted t-o receive a lling of cement, in combination with an indicatoror pin in the vertical plane of the tablet projecting exterior of thegrave and provided with a receptacle at its upper end, substantially asherein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JONATHAN WINCHES'IER HUNT.

Vitnesses:

WILLIAM NAUcKE, WILLIAM H. DRURY.

